“The Home Between Us” Art Exhibition Opening Night!

Join us for an evening of art, performance, live music, food, and more! We are thrilled to invite you to “The Home Between Us,” La Peña’s Art Exhibition Opening Night! We will be celebrating community and exploring the concept of “transformative belonging” through:

1. The multimedia work of five Visual Artists that include photography, ceramics, weaving, textile art, sculpture, and performance: Aylee Ibáñez, Carolina Cuevas, Claudia Huenchuleo, Ahn Lee, and Mari Rose Taruc.
2. The unveiling of a brand New Mural in our community room made by young muralists Lauryn Marshall, Kahalla, and Angie López under the mentorship of Cece Carpio. We will not only be presenting the new mural itself but also a short documentary of the artistic process directed by Clara Pérez and Corey Raynor!!
3. A Double Concert in charge of Mara Hruby and Coraza band!
4. Food and drinks will be available all night!

• GET YOUR TICKETS NOW: $20 PRE-SALE | $25 DOOR
• YOU CAN ALSO VOLUNTEER AND COME FOR FREE!
• PLEASE NOTE that we will require proof of vaccination at the door.

VISUAL ART:

The visual artists that will be showing their work (from left to right): Ahn Lee, Mari Rose Taruc, Claudia Huenchuleo, Aylee Ibáñez, and Carolina Cuevas. These artists utilize all kinds of different mediums and strategies to shine light on issues around identity, place and displacement, history, religion, and representation. Together, their work paints a provocative picture of what belonging might actually look and feel like, questioning colonial mindsets and pushing for a fresh, more nuanced and more caring ways of being.

The young artists that are right now working on the new mural for our Community Room are: Lauryn Marshall, Kahalla, and Angie López. These painters have been working at La Peña over the course of six weeks under the mentorship of Cece Carpio. Stay tuned for the video of their process! We also want to take this space to thank Los Pobres Artistas for the beautiful work in our Community Room that is now transitioning into a whole new piece of art. We love seeing the solidarity with which these group of artists are seeing and appreciating each other’s work. Cheers to more painted walls in our cities!!

LIVE MUSIC:

Mara Hruby doesn’t just play music—she lives it. Since the onset of her career, the Oakland, CA native has poured her soul into her velvet confections, drawing inspiration from lessons that she’s gleaned in her personal life and funneling them into rich, organic compositions. In just a few years, the singer-songwriter has become one of acoustic soul’s fastest-rising up-and-comers, gaining a loyal following. Follow Mara’s Instagram and get ready to vibe with her and her band once they get on our stage!

The band that will close the night: Coraza,a feminist indie folk-pop group based in Oakland, CA. With roots in Chile, Guam, Mexico, and the Philippines, Coraza’s sound is a unique fusion of experimental and traditional; nostalgic and provocative, combining elements of South American folkloric style (à la Violeta Parra and Mercedes Sosa) with catchy contemporary rhythms, bilingual lyrics, electric distortions, and delicious harmonies. Follow Coraza here!

MORE ABOUT THE EXHIBITION: “The Home Between Us” reflects on how the concept —and most importantly, the feeling— of belonging can be a pathway to personal and collective transformation. As opposed to the social mandate of fitting in or assimilating, belonging requires us to be radically ourselves with the goal of building a community where everyone is radically themself. To belong, therefore, means to create a safe home for truth to be enacted and accepted; it means to transform harm into knowledge and solutions; it means to see and be seen with eyes of curiosity and care. It is the conscious act of evolving community in a space of your own choosing within the context of others, of inviting your truth and retaining room for stories and perspectives different from your own. Transformational belonging is an act of shared creation. And yes, this is all easier said than done.

Through the work of nine artists that come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, we explore different ways in which belonging may feel challenging, beautiful, and transformative. Moving between intimacy and discomfort, consensus and conflict, movement and stillness, the art pieces and performances that form this exhibition invite the audience to let themselves be vulnerable and discover the point where coexisting starts feeling less like a burden and more like a gift. We aim to create with you during this evening, to spark shared belonging and inspire transformation. Within each other’s reflections we find facets of ourselves. We (only) are among others.